


Chaos in the Arcade

by It_doesnt_do_wood



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters
Genre: Autistic, Dad!Blinky, Dyscalculia, Fluff, Merlin is an ass, OC is autistic, Some angst, Tooth Rotting Fluff, and has dyscalculia, lets not beat around the bush here, troll!jim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/It_doesnt_do_wood/pseuds/It_doesnt_do_wood
Summary: Arlow has a fierce grudge against Merlin. And why shouldn’t they? Being sent back in time and trapped in a crystal were enough reason to get angry.And then there’s the whole dying and being brought back to life bit.Of course, it wasn’t all bad. She had her cousin Walter and her new family-thingie with the Lakes and the other two teens.But there was just one thing she didn’t understand. How did she ever start dating two four armed trolls?
Relationships: Blinky/Original Character, Blinky/oc, DIctatious/oc, Dictatious/Original Character, Polyamorous - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I edited this chapter and the first chapter a little bit, just cleaning it up a little bit. Her horns are bigger but that’s all I changed. New chapter soon!
> 
> Edit:...I edited again. I’m sorry! I just have lots of ideas!!!

Jim stood high above his little, not-so-normal town of Arcadia. The thick twilight made every light in town look especially bright, like a field of stars settled on earth.

“I should write that down.” He chuckled and sighed.  


Over the past few months the teen had changed so much, including the trollhunter himself. He had horns now, blue skin, and tusks. His ears had also elongated, pointing out and moving with every expression he made.

Jim often found himself absentmindedly messing with them whenever he was particularly focused on something.

Like now.

A series of footsteps told him someone was approaching.

“Master Jim. Admiring the view I see?” Blinky paused. He knew his surrogate son well. Well enough to know he was deep in thought. “I know this may be the only peacetime we see for a while, considering everything that fool has warned us of, but we must make haste. Merlin said it will happen soon.” He stepped to Jim’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I know. Just watching.” He knew he had to go soon, but the moment was so peaceful. Jim wanted it to last.

The old wizard had warned the Trollhunters about a potential threat. Something, or someone, associated with Morgana. It was supposed to reveal itself tonight, in Heartstone Trollmarket.

Blinky has formed a plan as soon as he heard, having plenty practice from conspiracy theories. Jim, Toby and Claire were to go down into the newly restored Heartstone Trollmarketand and meet Vendel. He would lead them to Morgana’s former prison and see if any insidious magic was in use.

Vendel has grumbled at first, but was quick to agree at the prospect of probing Merlin wrong. Of all the people in their little hero group, Vendel trusted him the least. ‘Deals in suspicion and treachery,’ he would always say.

Meanwhile, Blinky and Aaarrrgh would patrol topside. The numerous alleyways could provide quick traversal for any entity they may find.

Draal was to keep the peace with the other trolls who were currently evacuated to a shaded part of forest.

Jim hoped they would handle this before sunrise, or at least move the threat to another location. Possibly somewhere far away from Trollmarket, just incase.

While the town had made strides in building overhangs and shade for the trolls, it wasn’t enough for every troll that lived below, and the trees they used currently in the frigid night air weren’t the best if sunrise came early.

“Come along, Master Jim. We must hurry.” Blinky led Jim down the hill to the base, where his two best friends stood in full armor. Quickly dawning his own, the trio set out towards Trollmarket.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been years. Hundreds, in fact.

The same wall, same faucet of the same crystal of the same prison that held her for centuries as the only view she had. Even her dreams, for most a fruitful escape, were filled with the damn crystal.

_ So Morgana, big bad sorceress supreme, can go free but I can’t?_

To say Arlow was pissed was an understatement. She had seen everything. The glowing green staff, Gunmar’s trickery if that gangly-somewhat familiar- man, even the numerous deaths the sorceress used to amass her powers.

_ When I see that thrice damned idiot Merlin, I swear to god I will pulverize him!_

Arlow has been tricked by that wizard. Sent back in time by the man himself and told to hold a precious golden dagger with her until she met him again. So she did. Against countless thieves and power hungry individuals, she kept it safe. For years.

A person out of time, she made do with what she could. Scavenged up food, took up odd jobs where they wouldn’t ask questions. A lot of disguise was used in her life at that point. Her normal choice of words were changed and her clothes were swapped out soon after. The plumbing took a while to get used to. After all, it was 600 C.E..

She had to deal with horrible culture shock and fear protecting that damn device, andwhat did he do when they met again? Called her a witch, a villain, an assistant of Morgana! Took her dagger as proof of this and cast her in crystal where he would later trap the sorceress.

Although she was freed at one point, it wasn’t in the best circumstances. Some colonizers had brought a pickaxe down upon the crystal in hopes of selling the shards and broken her head out of confinement instead.

A glimmer of hope had shone at that moment, but was quickly squashed as the foolish man made demands of her. Claimed that he freed her, so she must obey him. Even called her Mimir after some Norse myth.

_ Trying to seem scholarly to win my favor.  _ She snorted. At least, in her head she did. 

The man had fully released her later, but soon trapped her again. Her body was completely stuck, no movement possible. She couldn’t even blink or breathe, frozen in a position of terror and betrayal. Her hands were up and balled into fists. A furious scowl was settled on her features.

_ It’s a wonder I’m even alive. _

That was a conundrum in itself. Being trapped in one solitary spot for millennia having nothing to occupy your time, you tended to forget things.  


Certain things she could recall. Her parents names, the town she last went to, even some old bands she had listened to. She was sure some of the dreams she had that didn’t involve her current prison were scraps of her past life, but she couldn’t be too sure.

Other things, like her name, were a little iffy. Arlow was well aware that might not even be her true name given the circumstances, but that was the name she decided to stick with. It sounded nice.

All that aside, the one thing she did swear on was that she died. And not naturally. In a bad way, although whether it was simply bad timing or a gruesome affair, she could not say.

~~~~~~~~~

“Relax, Jimbo! You’ve defeated Morgana and Gunmar in the same day! This is easy compared to those guys.” Toby nudged his friend. The trio walked in a row behind Vendel, tapping along in front with his staff.

“We all defeated them, Tobes. I could never have done it on my own. And I’m not-I’m not uneasy about that. I mean, I am worried that we’ll be attacked. But I’m more worried about _Merlin_ being worried, if that makes sense?” Jim sighed. He twirled a few strands of hair in his fingers, brushing his horns.

“Yeah, he seemed spooked. Not like with Morgana, more like he knew this was coming.” Claire thought out loud. Did he plan this? Was this another test for their trollhunter?

Toby hummed. “Maybe he’s just being cautious.”

Vendel scoffed. He had been walking a few feet in front of the trio, keeping a close eye on their surrounding. “Cautious? That wizard is the most reckless person I’ve ever met. He may claim to be looking ahead-“ he led them to the base of the Heartstone crystal. “-but he much more often looks to himself.” He gestured for the teens to go first.

They walked down deep into the center of the great crystal that protected trollkind. The many facets reflected every small bit of light onto their skin in swathes of gold and honey.

It took a few minutes to get to the bottom, but once there they spread out across the room, looking for any signs of something amiss.

All of them avoided looking at the hollowed out shard hanging above them, the memories too terrifying to think about now.

The old goat thumped his wooden staff against the ground.

“If there was a major threat, it would be here. The old fool has made a mistake. Unsurprising.” Vendel sighed and furrowed his brow.

“I trust Merlin, Vendel. He may be-.”

“A complete and utter fool.”

Jim lake paused. “I was gonna say ‘an ass’ but sure that works too.” The old troll snorted. “Anyway his hunches have never been wrong before.”

And it was true. Although he was mistaken about a Heartstone below New Jersey, there was a small settlement of trolls there who had a very special mineral. A mineral that could reawaken a Heartstone.

Blinky has been overjoyed, and set immediately to the nearest Gyre to revive their precious crystal. It was ground into a fine powder and mixed into a paste that was applied as a thin coating to the very core of the great crystal. Luckily, it worked. Now the Heartstone pulsed with vibrant energy that would not diminish for many centuries.

Toby groaned. “Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place. Maybe it’s up above? Or-.”

“Guys! Over here!” They all ran to Claire, brandishing their weapons and staff.

They all stared at what they saw. In one facet of the room was a person. A human, by the look of it. Caught between rage and terror, clenched fists frozen mid-smash into the surface. Brown and gold eyes glowing with intense fury. One long crack stretched from head to toe.

“Who is-.” Before Toby could finish, more cracks started to form, spidering out and kaleidoscoping the refracted light into their eyes.

The bright light blinded them, black spots floating in the it vision. Jim shielded his eyes. If he didn’t know better, he’d say it was the sun beating down on them. Bright and blistering.

They waited in agonizing silence for the light to diminish, hoping that this person wouldn’t jump out ready to kill them all.

Loud crumbling and a thud followed, then nothing. Just panting.

Jim clutched his sword at his side and waited for his vision to return. Once it did he stood straight and pointed Daylight at the person kneeling before them.

They looked sickly, ashen. Their cheeks were slightly sunken and their brown eyes were dull. Curly brown hair hung limp on their head like a mop. They looked mostly human, albeit a human with a really intense brown and gold tan.

The person furrowed their eyebrows, taking on a fierce but unfocused expression. Not unlike the one stuck on their face when they were trapped.

“Where is-.” They paused, clutching at their stomach as it growled.

The Trollhunters shared a glance. Claire moved slowly and circled around the stranger, taking note of the dirty and outdated clothing. Like something straight out of the Middle Ages.

“What year is it?”

Claire decided this feeble and sickly person wouldn’t pose much threat in this state, and helped them stand as they shook.

“Well, it’s 2020.” That made them gasp.

“Finally, I’m _back_. Oh god, I’m back _home_.” They had a wide toothy grin. A few tears seemed to well in their eyes, but they were quickly wiped away with a shaky hand.

Toby grinned. “Heck yeah! Best time to be alive in! Can. You. Understand. Me?”

They cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah I’m not a fucking idiot, kid.” Their response was gravelly.

Toby looked shocked. “Dang dude, you even curse like you’re from now.”

They rolled their eyes and took a testing step forward.

“Yes, I am from now. I mean, not now-now, but I am alive this year.” The words rolled around their mouth, rough and mispronounced in lack of practice. Feeling satisfied with their shaky stride, they let go of Claire and patted her shoulder in thanks.

“I’m a time traveller, and not by choice if that helps. I’ve got to find Merlin, give him a piece of my mind.”

Jim held up a hand in warning not to move. If they intended to hurt or even kill the wizard, they had to be stopped. “Wait a second, who are you?”

Toby stepped up. “Yeah, are you a villain?”

That seemed to confuse the stranger.

“No, I’m Arlow. I think.” They scratched their head. “Hard to remember.” They coughed slightly. “I guess call me that until I can figure out my name. And I’m she right now, FYI. Hopefully you three are educated enough to understand my meaning?”

They all nodded.

“Wait three? Vendel is with us too!”

“Who is-.” Arlow gasped as Vendel came into full view. The troll merely sighed and tapped his staff against the ground.

“Who is this? Some innocent Merlin decided to drag into all of this, as he is wont to do?” He scoffed. “Not a great shock to me. Take her home so we can be rid of this goose chase.”

“I am an innocent, but that’s besides the point! Your  horns are magnificent!” She smiled up at him in awe. _Familiar, too._

Vendel coughed. “Well, I suppose we can bring her to Barbara for an examination.”

His sudden cooperation did not go unnoticed by the teens, who rolled their eyes at how fast flattery had worked on him.

“Come along, now.”

Arlow made it fine across the room, but the stairs were a bit difficult. She could barely lift her knees to step. 

She huffed in frustration. “Hold on a second. I’m too stiff.”

She proceeded to crack every home in her body. Toes, fingers, vertebrae, spine, even jaw. Her knees cracked especially loudly. A majority of the onlookers nodded in sympathy of the stiffness. Being trapped without moving had to be killer in your bones. However, one troll in particular looked more shocked than sympathetic, fully expecting to hear a scream after every crack.

Arlow clapped and proceeded behind her new companions.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t feeling too good. The long flight of stairs and sudden introduction to sensations caused her to feel lightheaded and ill. The staircase warped around her, yawning with every step. Her feet felt unsteady on the ground, and the _feeling_ of everything around her felt like a great pressure all over her body.

By the time they had crossed the market and reached the exit, her skin was even paler than before and she panted behind them. Her feet were dragging.

“Guys? I think I’m gonna-.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole first fic is going to focus on Arlow and being sick, but it does pick up later on I promise! Any comments or advice would be appreciated! I wanna know what you guys wanna see next.

Jim and his friends were freaking out. They had just witnessed a person escape from a crystal  _ alive _ after apparently years of being trapped there, only to have them collapse in his arms.

The shock was palpable, but they were too distracted at the moment to care. Getting her to his house was a little more difficult than he thought it might be.

“How is she so heavy?! She feels like a ton of rocks!” The poor half troll was currently holding her upright, one arm hooked around his neck while the other steadied her at the waist.

“It’s probably because she is deadweight right now.” Tobias wheezed at his side, still in shock. Claire made a portal with her new staff as soon as she could and they all leaped through.

  
~~~~~~~~~

Barbara got to work as soon as she saw the limp figure. Prepping the couch, she ordered Claire and Toby to found more blankets and the first aid kit.

Jim laid her as directed on the bed so his mother could see what was wrong. Vendel stood to the side, ready and waiting incase his assistance was needed.

Barbara gave her a quick examination. Bleary eyes, no scratches. Her ears were a little longer and pointed more than normal, but that didn’t bother her.

The more important thing was that she was burning up with a fever. A quick thermometer check proved that.

“She’s got influenza. Here, lay her down.” Jim and his mother struggled for a moment trying to adjust their newest patient before Vendel sighed and laid her down quite easily.

“I don’t understand your struggle, trollhunter. She is a completely average human. Not that heavy.”

Jim scoffed. _Average, my butt_. His ears perked as he heard Tobias and Claire thudding back down stairs with what seemed like an entire drugstore in tow.

They had brought every single bit of medicine they could find, obviously overthinking what his mother might need.

Tobias hurriedly spoke. “We got antiseptics, cough medicine.” He handed each onto the table as he spoke, well in reach of the doctor. “The first aid kit, flu medicine, gauze, wet wipes, rubber gloves, bandaids.”

Claire deposited her cache of medicine before booking it out the door.

“I’m gonna check on Draal and NotEnrique. I wanna see if anything happened while we were down there.”

Jim unstrapped his sword. “I’m coming with you.” His girlfriend smiled.

The next moment they were gone, leaving two doctors with their newest patient.

Barbara went into full doctor mode, reviewing all the medicines and choosing the least risky to administer. She had no way of knowing if the stranger had any allergies, but these specific kinds tended to work on those with severe aversion to certain chemicals.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance?” Vendel placed his staff to the side as he rummaged around in his pocket.

“Thanks, really. But with all due respect, this is a human. Or, mostly. I think I’m the most qualified to tend to their medical needs.”

“But you do not know their allergies, do you? We have a simple test for that.” Vendel produced what he called a pricking stone, a small translucent crystal with multiple tiny spikes coming out of one end, and asked her to produce a small sample of each medicine she planned to use.

While Barbara prepared that, Vendel took one of the passed out human’s fingers and pricked it slightly. The crystal’s core turned blueish in contact with blood.

He went over to the small desk of samples and turned the crystal over in his hands, using a clean side to dip into each medicine.

If there were truly a discrepancy within the medicines, the center was supposed to turn green. Thankfully, there was none.

“She has no allergies to these medicines, and none that I can see at all.” Barbara nodded before choosing a strong night time cough and flu relief syrup.

“Uh, could you help me-.” She didn’t have to ask twice. Vendel only had to use one hand to prop the stranger up. Barbara thanked him and held the tiny cup to her lips. Squinted eyes cracked open before she drank all of it in one gulp. Her eyes shot open as she made a disgusted face.

“Hate cough syrup.” She said, in a gravelly voice. 

It was so full of hatred Barbara had to laugh out loud, but restrained it to a chuckle. She laid her new patient down and tucked them in, setting about cleaning up all the medicine. She put some of it aside, just Incase it were needed for the future.

Finally breathing a sigh of relief, the physician turned to Vendel.

“This is who you found down there? They don’t seem like a threat.” Vendel hummed.

“Looks can be deceiving, Barbara.Your son is evidence of that.” Barbara sighed. That day had been stressful, and not only because of this. The hospital has a sudden influx of animal attack victims, so many that some had to be sent to the hospital in the next town over. It was odd, but she was too tired to worry about it right now.

She wanted to take a nap, but she had a patient to worry about. And that shivering form tucked into the couch needed to be watched.

“Go, you have done enough. I shall watch the human.” She grinned up at the much taller troll.

~~~~~~~~~

Vendel watched as the human dragged herself up the stairs, taking one more glance at the couch before disappearing upstairs.

Vendel took a seat next to the couch, his back leaning against the cushions. It wasn’t for much longer that he’d be alone, because Jim and Claire dragged themselves through the doors a few moments later with Draal in tow.

“Nothing. Nada. Zip.” Jim sighed.

“None of the trolls noticed anything amiss?” He shook his head.

“I don’t understand Vendel. This is the threat? She’s been locked away in a crystal for years, and as soon as she comes out she gets sick! That doesn’t sound really villainous to me.” Claire sighed.

“This is the human?” Draal inquired. He clenched his metal fist in preparation.

“Yes, the passed out human. Influenza. A rather ridiculous illness.” Draal approaches cautiously, earning an eye roll from the old troll. He sniffed around the shivering mass under the blanket.

“If it’s a human, why does it have horns and pointed ears?” Draal glared at Arlow.

That got their attention. Moving quickly but slowly, they found Draal was right. Brownish-grey horns poked out of her curly hair, and her ears twisted outwards at sharp points. They seemed too trollish of features to belong to a human, but Arlow _was_ human! Right?

“Why does she have those? That doesn’t make any sense! She’s not a changeling, cuz she’d have like a troll nose or some green skin right? Although, she does look a little more gold than she should.” Toby was worried. Their first few meetings with changelings hadn’t gone so well. Strickler and Nomura has defected to their side, but not without trying to kill them a couple dozen times. He gave a nervous chuckle.

“Guess we’ll have to wait and see?” As soon as he said that, Blinky came bursting through the door.

“Master Jim! Is everyone all right? I heard you found someone-.” The scholar came up short at the image of everyone crouched next to a mass of blankets on the couch.

“Let me see, who was hurt?” He pulled the covers back on the person, hoping it wasn’t a member of his family. The face he saw was not what he expected. Ashen and shivering. Quite worrying.

“Who is this?” Jim rubbed his neck before puffing his cheeks with air.

“Well, that’s what - _w_ _ho_ \-  we found. They just sort of came out of the crystal?” He phrased it as a question, wondering if that had actually happened or he was still dreaming. It was all too odd. Merlin had seemed incredibly worried, but this person could barely do anything. Arlow was too sick to pose any threat to them.

Blinky paced in thought, his arms taking the usual ‘lecture position’ of his lower hands clasped behind him and one upper placed at his torso. The other was left free to gesture about along with his frantic thoughts.

“Hmm. Perhaps once the wizard returns we can ask the man himself. For now, we should retrieve a gaggletack and perform a test ourselves just incase. With the necessary precautions, of course.” He stopped beside Jim. The boy’s phone buzzed and he saw Toby’s name pop up.

“ _Got the all clear, Checked with Dick _ -.” That made him snort.   


“ _Doesn’t know a thing, but doesn’t think it’s Gunmar. Says he is too loud with his attacks to wait this long. _ And a couple smiley faces.”

His phone buzzed again.

“Oh. Hang on, he sent another.  _Dick ate all the tinfoil and pies, running out to buy some more._ Smiley face, thumbs up. That’s it.”

Blinky hummed. Dictatious has been extremely cooperative since his turning semi-good, although he still said rather ‘evil’ things occasionally. But he wouldn’t lie, not when so many people who could potentially end him were so close by.

Then what could it be? An invasion? Unlikely, there would be more people. A messenger? Possibly. Maybe someone from the past had done that as a warning of some kind. Unfortunately they couldn’t know until their newest housemate was awake.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arlow is still sick, everyone is confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where my writing skills have gone but once I’ve finished this first installment(and there will definitely be more) I’m definitely gonna go back and edit this. Hopefully you stick around long enough for that. Enjoy!

The next five days or so went by without much activity. Jim’s newest housemate became Barbara’s latest patient, and most of the time was spent examining the sickly person or trying to stave off dehydration.

Eating was out of the question, at least for the first couple days. Arlow was barely lucid enough to drink the water Barbara gave her, with Vendel’s help of course. She still weighed a ton of bricks.

Jim started having doubts about the credibility of Merlin’s warning. This was supposed to be a threat? Arlow barely had enough energy to shiver, let alone lift her head off the couch cushion, and yet Merlin expected her to attack them?

Jim was looking forward to proving the old man wrong. Not that he didn’t respect him, the wizard had crafted his amulet after all. But he also tended to mock anyone that questioned his judgement.

A stirring from the living room brought his attention back to the present.

He sat across from his mother at their dining table, curtains drawn despite the sunset outside.  _ Incase anything happe _ _ns_ , Barbara had said.

A few stumbling footfalls led from the couch around the corner and soon the disheveled figure of Arlow was in plain view. She cleared her throat. 

“Could I have a glass of water, please?” Her fingers played with the hem of a bright green tank top Barbara had lent her. It was far too big on them both, meant more as a nightgown than breezy summer wear. But it was better than nothing, even if it didn’t exactly match the worn out grey sweatpants she wore.

_ Yes, very threatening. Very threatening indeed. _

“Of course you can. It’s in the kitchen.” The doctor led the shuffling figure to the cabinets full of glasses. Arlow followed behind, slouched and looking much more meek than their first meeting.

“Sink is there, food is in the fridge if you’d like any.” The houseguest nodded and cleared their throat.

Barbara offered a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder. Once she passed the threshold , she sat down with Jim in a careful but hurried manner.

“Jim, listen. I think something happened to her before the crystal. I was doing a routine check just to see if she had any extra scratches or injuries and I found scars.” She hesitated. “Jim, they’re bad. She got really badly hurt before all this. Around her neck and shoulders. It’s like the flesh was  _torn apart_. ”

She covered his hand with her own. His face was scrunched with worry and confusion. “Honey, she may need to recover from more than just the flu. And I hate to say it, but I don’t think Merlin is telling the whole story.” He nodded. He found it suspicious as well.

Arlow soon shuffled back to the couch and proceeded to collapse, bundling up in a cocoon of blankets.

“I’ll talk to him when he gets back. For now, we need to let her sleep.”

~~~~~~~~~

The next day, their houseguest has much more energy. Enough to stare at Jim and Toby playing Go Go Sushi in the Lake living room.

“What is the objective?” Toby turned to the bundle on the couch, where a pair of eyes peered at him.

“It’s really easy! You catch the sushi and feed the hungry customers. Faster you are, the more customers, and the more money! Wanna try?” Jim elbowed him, giving him a warning look.

The bundle stood and shuffled over, deciding to sit about a foot away from the boy. Toby happily handed her the controller, flipping through the levels as she fiddled with the controls.

“This is...pretty old school. Reminds me of Pac-Man.” Toby gasped.

“You know video games?!” Arlow gave him a slightly exasperated look.

“W- _ Yes _ ! I’m not much-well, I didn’t  _ used  _ to be much older than you. I played games! Before the whole ‘trapped in a crystal for hundreds of years’ thing.” Toby chuckles nervously. 

“Right, forgot about that.”

“Wait, how does that work?” Jim was curious now. “If you played video games, how were you trapped hundreds of years ago?”

She sighed.

“Time travel, kid. I was sent back to the 6th century! I spent a couple years there before-.” She made a gesture. “That whole debacle.”

Jim nodded and bit his lip. “Hey, I have a question. It’s been bothering me for the past couple of days.” Arlow blinked. “When you came out of the crystal, you said you were a ‘she,’ and you hoped we knew what you meant? I’m confused.”

Arlow wrinkled her nose and sighed. “Yeah, I’m confused too. I think I meant that I’m agender, and sometimes I use other pronouns. To be honest, I was so disoriented and loopy the first day I came out. I barely know what happened.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

Jim let out an ‘ooooooh.’ “Okay, then yeah we know what you mean!” Arlow chuckled at his satisfied expression.

A shrimp based level of the game started up and Toby dove in, catching and serving the food to the virtual customers. Arlow fumbled around first, getting used to the minimal controls. It was much more difficult than she could ever recall, more hand eye coordination and focus was needed, but soon she was speeding along. She almost matched Toby’s skill, a master of the game himself.

“No, get the tempura! The tempura!”

“I’ve got it! _No_!...I don’t got it.”

She scoffed. 

“Cmon, little chef! Catch the dang food!” She was surprised at how much she enjoyed this game. How much she missed hanging out with others, laughing with them.

She felt happy.

Once the level ended, the pair sat back and caught their breath from their “extremely vigorous” activity.

“Thanks for letting me play, Toby.” Arlow glanced over at the over dramatic teen, ‘catching his breath’ at their short gaming session.

“No * huff * problem.” She laughed at his state, spread eagle and staring at the ceiling. She glanced over at Jim. Arlow was extremely curious about him. He looked blue, had horns, and tusks that jutted out of his mouth. All of his features seemed straight out of a fantasy book, but his left hand had five fingers, unlike the usual four that trolls had. And his nose. It didn’t have the slits that were a trademark of every troll tribe.

“Jim? Are you human?” Arlow bit her tongue.  _That was too blunt, you idiot_!  She was prepared to back track before she saw the thoughtful expression on his face, completely lacking the offended look she expected.

Jim rocked back on his heels, puffing out his cheeks.

“Sorta? I’m a half troll, but I was born human.” Jim smiled.

“Oh. Sorry for asking so bluntly. I didn’t mean to be so abrupt.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

He nodded. “It’s totally fine. But, uh. Are you a troll? If you don’t mind me asking, that is!” He let out a nervous laugh.

Arlow looked confused.

“No? I’m human?”

Now it was Jim’s turn to be confused. Did she not know?

“But, you have horns and long ears. And your skin! It’s all golden brownish and feels-well, it doesn’t feel like stone, but it doesn’t feel like complete skin either.” She frowned and turned to the now darkened tv screen. 

She gasped. He was right! She had horns coming from her scalp, curling back and following the shape of her skull. They looked like goat horns. Wide at the base and curled slightly at the end. 

Giant ears sprouted from the sides of her head, pointing straight up at her heightened emotional state. She tugged them to point down. They sprung back up as soon as she let go.

“Look, I know this is weird-.” Jim had stood with his hands out in preparation. Would she scream? Freak out? Accuse him of cursing her? Whichever one happened, he knew he’d have to calm her down.

Luckily, something entirely different happened.

“Woah! That’s so  cool ! I’ve always wanted horns! The ears are an awesome bonus, though.” She has a wide grin.

“Wait, you’re not upset?”

She laughed and rubbed her hands together. He was right. They did feel slightly tougher. “Not at all! I’ve always wanted horns. Besides, it was probably the blue ghosts that put me back together. They probably  had to do this.” 

She saw his look of confusion. “I don’t remember all the details, but somehow I died in a bad way. Can’t recall how, believe me I’ve been trying for literal  _ years _ to remember. But some blue people ‘put me back together.’ Whatever that means. I dunno, that’s all I could get from my dreams.”

Blue ghosts? _That sounds like Aja and Krel. But wouldn’t they have told me if someone died?_

“Wait, these ghosts.” She nodded. “Did they have four arms?” Might as well ask.

She nodded vigorously.

“Yes! Exactly! And there was two others there. A boulder covered in moss and a hunched goat. He was holding a staff of some kind.”

Jim hummed.  _ AAARRRGGHH!!! And Vendel. They surely would have told me. Is there something missing? Did it not happen in Arcadia? Is she just mistaken? _

The young troll was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Arlow gasp. Toby had entered the high score screen to enter in Arlow’s name when she stopped him.

“That name! It’s familiar to me.” Jim followed his pointed finger to AAARRRGGHH!!!’s name.

Yeah, she definitely knows them.

He and Toby shared a look.

“Arlow, I think I should tell you about my friends.”

~~~~~~~~~

47 books. 47 books on Troll Lore, one of the greatest omnibus in the world, and she had finished half of it in no time at all. To say Blinky was shocked was an understatement. It had taken Jim a full week to read the _first_ edition!

“I cannot decide if that is fortuitous, or treacherous. It could be that we have someone who genuinely appreciates the lore, but on the other of my four hands it could be an enemy learning our deepest secrets! Master Jim, I must question your judgement on this!” He paced around mumbling.

“Blinky, she has horns and pointed ears like a troll, I had to tell her! Besides, I think she already knew about trolls existing. She asked me if I was a troll, too! What’s the harm in her being educated?” Jim argued.

“Harm?! What if she is a spy!” Jim game him a look. “Alright, she’s probably not a spy. But an old Gumm Gumm ally? Possibly! We must prepare for the worst!” He followed the trollhunter out of Trollmarket to the Lake household in a determined stride. He was surprisingly fast with his short legs.

“Blinky, what are you doing?! I don’t think she’s quite ready to meet you just yet!” He hopped around his mentor.

“And why not, Master Jim? She evidently knows about AAARRRGGHH!!! and Vendel, if her response is anything to go by.” Jim blocked Blinky’s path.

“She doesn’t remember them!” That got the Conundrum to pull up short. “At least, not fully. She says she died and they helped ‘put her back together,’ or something. But-She doesn’t even know  _how_ she died, Blink. It’s not gonna help if you grill her for information.”

Blinky nodded. “You’re right, Master Jim. But I still would like to meet her. And there is the matter of testing her with a gaggletack.” Jim groaned as his ears flipped down.

“Blinky, I’m telling you. It’s not a good idea!” He couldn’t stop a determined Blinky. Nobody could, really. He could only brace himself as his mentor knocked on the front door.

Draal opened it, shushing them as he gestured to the sleeping Arlow. A book was splayed over her stomach. She must have fallen asleep reading, as she tended to do. Arlow had been recovering well, but her energy usage was still very low. This was the third time she’d fallen asleep reading that day alone.

“Ah. So much for meeting.” Jim sighed in relief.

Barbara strode into the living room, sliding around Draal’s huge spikes and prepping her purse to leave.

“I’m going to the eye doctor, okay Jim?” Jim frowned.

“You have an appointment?” Barbara snorted.

“No. Turns out our newest roommate needs glasses. I took her to the eye doctor a couple days ago, and her frames are finally ready.” She kisses her son on the cheek and waved to the other two.

Jim took the open book-Book 39 of Troll Lore by Behilde- and used a scrap paper as a bookmark.

“Okay, she’s asleep so you can do the test. Just, please don’t wake her? She’s still pretty sick.” Blinky nodded before producing the pure iron horseshoe from one of his many pockets.

A quick tap on her arm sufficed as a thorough test. 

“Well, now we know that is out of the question. Still! We must remain vigilant. Who knows what dark powers she could possess to be locked in that crystal by Merlin.” Jim had tried to quiet him, but to no avail. His frantic hand movements only made Blinky confused and talk even more.

“Master Jim? What is the matter?” His pupil gestured behind him to the couch. Blinky turned, and immediately came face to face with a squinting Arlow.

She took a moment to seemingly glower at the blue blob.

“Are you a troll too? You’re awfully blue.”

Blinky found he couldn’t answer at first. The words would form in his head, but his mouth seemed to not work properly. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her face.

He had seen her face before, a few days ago when she had first been brought in. But she had been sickly, and her eyes didn’t show as vibrantly as now. They were warm brown, and he noted flecks of gold as well. Her skin, although previously pale in complexion, was much more full of life than before, her cheeks pink with a slight golden tan. Her hair seemed much more healthy as well, curled and pushed away from her face.

The most interesting thing was that she had freckles on her shoulders.

“Um, y-yes I am.” He blinked his six eyes out of sync. _Oh, stop it Blinkous. So what if she is beautiful? She could be plotting your demise!_

Arlow kept squinting at him.

“You have a sweet voice.” He cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Arlow?” It came out as a question rather than a statement.

Her eyes wandered around and she winced. Her throat felt sore and dry. The taste of sleep was still on her tongue as well.

“Could I have a glass of water?” She coughed and cleared her throat as Jim hurried off to fill a glass.

A knocking on the back door caught their attention. Draal hurried over and flung it open to assist AAARRRGGHH in squeezing through the doorway.

Jim hurried back and handed her the glass. She sighed and sipped.

Everything was extremely confusing to her. The people she was meeting seemingly for the first time were frightfully familiar to her, and people she  knew she had met didn’t remember her at all. No one had even heard of her coming to Arcadia until now. And then there was the wizards’ presence here.

She frowned and drank some more water. It helped to soothe the soreness, although it didn’t take it all away. 

Arlow had hoped being freed from the crystal would have fixed everything, but it seemed she would have to do much more to get her life back.

A series of thuds sounded before a hulking mass of green and grey came through the hall. It ducked as low as it could, still having little room to move in.

“Uh, Arlow? Remember how you were playing that game with Toby and you said you knew one of the names on the scoreboard? AAARRRGGHH?” She nodded.

“Well, this is him.” She gasped. Arlow put the glass down and stood as fast as she could, walking to the huge troll on shaky legs before surprising everyone with a great big hug.

“Thank you! Thank you, my friend. You saved my life! I’d not be here without you.” 

AAARRRGGHH looked at his six eyed friend on confusion.

Blinky approached her hesitantly. “You say my friend here saved your life? When?”

She pulled back from hugging him and directed a smile at where she thought his face was.

“Before I was sent back in time by that damn Merlin. He and a large goatman took me to the blue...people? Well I know they’re not ghosts now.” She hummed. “Was the goatman even a goat?”

She continued mumbling to herself for a few minutes.

“But AAARRRGGHH here has not ever met you before. In fact, we haven’t had a death- _near_ death- in Arcadia in a good while.” Blinky started to pace and mumble as well. 

Draal rolled his eyes. Great. Now there were two people off in their own heads.

A jingling at the door caught Draal’s attention.

“Maybe The Bar-Burah providing those spectacles will help the...the flesh-troll’s memory.” He opened the door, fully expecting the Trollhunters’ mother. Instead, a rather ruffled Walter Strickler walked through the door holding a large reusable coffee cup.

“The barista can never get my order right. Oh well, doesn’t matter all that much. How is our guest-.” His eyes locked on Arlow and within a second was smushing her into a hug.

“Cousin! I didn’t expect you for another week!”

“Cousin?!” They all shouted.

“Well of course!” He laughed and patted her cheek. “Cousin of a cousin, but still family.”

Arlow gasped. “Avocado man!”

Walter scoffed. “Really? That joke again? That’s what you said when I first sent you a photograph.”

_ I remember him! I have family! We’re cousins. _

Arlow engulfed him in a hug of her own, holding him as close as possible as tears welled up in her eyes.

“I remember you! I do! We’re cousins, and you’re a changeling! And a total dork.” She finally let him go and wiped her eyes as he stared in confusion.

Everyone else was too preoccupied trying to catch flies with their mouths.

“Remember? Well, of course you-.” He stopped, adjusting the collar of his turtleneck. “Where’s our guest? I’m here to offer my services, if persuasion is needed?”

He looked around the room as everyone stayed silent. Arlow gave an awkward smile.

“Yeah...long story.”

~~~~~~~~~

“ _What_?!?!  How  _dare_ he! That damn wizard had better explain himself once he comes back from whatever  _frivolous_ vacation he’s on!” Strickler continued to rant as he paced back and forth across the living room carpet. 

“Walt! Stop pacing so fast. You’re gonna put holes in the carpet. Besides, if anyone is gonna give him a piece of their mind it’s gonna be  me .” Arlow was glowering at the memory of his treachery. How he locked her away for centuries.

Draal was currently leaning on the archway with folded arms, watching in amusement at the green changeling’s angry ranting. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH seemed almost nervous, the smaller of the two wringing his hands together in a way that produced a soft clacking noise. 

Jim had started stress cooking. By the smell of it, a steak.

“Wait a second. Did you say you weren’t expecting me for a _week_?” Her cousin huffed and nodded.

“Oh no!” Arlow howled and covered her face with her hands. She kept groaning and shaking her head as her cousin patted her back.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be sorted out in  quick order. Mark my words, he will very much regret his actions when I am through with him.” She shook her head.

“No, not that! I may have a shit memory, but what I do remember is when I died! And it was barely two weeks after arriving in Arcadia! That explains why I know people that have never met me, I’m overlapping myself!”

The room became a cacophony of noise. It was a deafening sound that rose in pitch every second, exasperation from Draal, shock and confusion from Jim, and even more angry muttering from Walter. Blinky joined in, mostly muttering how he wished he had though of that himself.

“And I remember something else, too. I remember...” She paled.

“I remember...seeing myself. As I am now, right before everything went black.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arlow can see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little shorter, mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else to put. Be warned, it’s super fluffy for no reason other than I wanted it to be.

The setting sun disappeared into a gloomy twilight as the crowded house became a hotbed of conversation. It was like she had dropped a bomb on them with how serious they became. 

AAARRRGGHH was off to the side, huddled with an irritated Draal as their own tiny group of onlookers while the others debated. Jim and his friends were theorizing about Merlin’s true motives, trying to handle the newest fact that Time travel was in fact a very real, very confusing, thing. 

Walter and Blinky seemed the most concerned with the fact that Arlow would die soon. Seeing her here while she spoke of her own demise as calmly as if she were reciting a poem, which she proceeded to do, left the pair with little calm left and a lot more questions than answers.   


The topic quickly turned to Morgana, the only entity they knew who could raise the dead.

Arlow was overwhelmed by all the loudness around her. Pressing into every available space it could while she sat clenching the couch with white knuckles. Her thoughts were exceedingly hard to pin down currently, bumping around her skull like toddling newborns.

None were fully formed. Half of what she could understand of her own mind was worry and concern, the other half exasperation. The only thing she could will her trembling body to do was recite a poem she partially remembered in hopes the hammering heart in her chest would calm.

Walter rushed to her at one point, asking her something. She tried to understand, really she did. But his mouth moved without sound. Her furrowed brow indicated her lack of comprehension, and he soon rejoined Blinky in debating the probability of their newfound situation. Soon after Barbara arrived.

The current state of her house was not exactly expected, and a quick shout got everyone to finally quiet down. 

Arlow felt the tension melting off, her knuckles loosening and cracking from the strain they were put under. 

“Thank you, Barbara.” She sighed.

The doctor shook her head and patted Walter on the shoulder as she passed.

”Please, it was my pleasure.You all seem to _enjoy_ fighting. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you looked forward to life or death cases.”

She stopped in front of the guest and held out a rectangular grey case.

“Here. It’s your glasses.” Arlow shot up and laughed, feeling giddy.

Finally, she would be able to see clearly! See the room, the clothes she wore, she faces of her new friends. 

The moon.

She grabbed the rectangle and bolted out the back door.

Draal growled.

“Get back here, flesh-troll! If you seek an escape, you won’t get far from Draal the Deadly!” His thundering footsteps led the whole mismatched group out into the night air, shouting after her and fully expecting that this might be what Merlin had referred to.

Draal pulled up short, snorting as Arlow staring up at the moon came into view.

And a beautiful moon it was. Losing as it hung in the pitch blackness, periodically interrupted by pinprick stars. It all looked magical, the cool whiteness of its pure light.

Arlow fell to her knees.

Blinky hurried over in concern and saw rivers of tears streaming down her face. Her wide eyes were locked onto the moon.

“It’s...I have not seen the night sky in centuries.” She trembled.

“I forgot how beautiful it was.”Her voice was wistful, like she were in a dream. A laugh erupted from her as she stared. It was full of joy and hope.

Finally, she was free. 

A gust of wind swept through, but it didn’t bother her. In fact it seemed more that she preferred if the wind blew, another experience she had missed over the many years.

She could feel it. Everything. She pet the grass. She could feel that too. The itchy-ness of it. She grinned and ran to a nearby tree, pressing her palms flat against the cracked bark.

“I can feel it! I can  _feel_ it! It’s here, it’s a tree! It’s not a dream!” She hugged it tight, laughing loudly. “It’s not a dream.”  


~~~~~~~~~

Most of the group had gone back inside, leaving only Blinky to watch over her in her state of rediscovery.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“I can’t imagine how difficult being trapped inside that crystal was, Miss Arlow. A dreadful situation indeed. But fear not, we won’t let that happen again.” One arm pointed to the sky to emphasize his point. He smiled.   
  
If she heard him, she gave no indication. She was too preoccupied squeezing the life out of the poor oak tree clasped in her grip.   


“Take your time, I won’t stop you.” She sighed. A few minutes passed of her just hugging the tree. Inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass, listening to the chittering chipmunks as they prepped for winter, feeling the bark scratch at her cheek and arms.

Blinky turned to watch the sky as he waited. _I must admit, it is very mesmerizing._

Arlow finally let go. A few indents in her skin remained, but she didn’t mind. It was proof of her new chance at a full life.

“Alright, I think-.” She gasped. Blinky snapped his head to her, fearing she might have gotten hurt somehow.

He found her staring at him with eyes like saucers. He fidgeted under their gaze, hunching in on himself in anticipation of fear.

“I realize seeing me with clear vision may not be as pleasant as you would have expected, but-.” He was cut off again by her hands coming to rest on his own. He stared, eyes wide with shock, while hers were focused on his hands. 

She was gentle, her fingers ghosting over his stony skin. She traced a few of the chisel marks along his forearms in wonder, missing the slight shiver Blinky gave. It felt almost ticklish with how softly she examined his arms.

“You’re _blue_. I mean, I knew that. I just...didn’t expect such a beautiful _shade_ of blue.” Blinky gawked, too stunned to do much else as this stranger he barely knew looked at him like he was the most interesting thing in the world.

She tore her eyes away to stare into his eyes, filled with wonder and curiosity. Not in fear as he had expected. More like a child seeing a tooth fairy. And her brown eyes. They were a marvel of their own, he couldn’t seem to look away.

“You’re _beautiful_ , Blinkous. And your marks! They’re so interesting! And you have three sets of eyes! Are all trolls as cool as you are? You’re tall as well. Seven feet? Eight? Oh goodness, you have horns! That is the coolest.” Arlow halted her ramblings with a laugh and took a step back, waving her hands around her head like she couldn’t fully process her thoughts.

Blinky sputtered. “I thank you for such compliments, Arlow. But that does seem to be a bit of an overstatement! There are many more who fit that slew of descriptors much more adequately.” He didn’t mean to try and discourage her. He quite enjoyed the attention. What he didn’t enjoy was how fast his heart was beating. It felt like a jackhammer against his chest, and he didn’t know why. 

_We’ve only just met! Control yourself, Blinkous! At least have a proper conversation with her before you become infatuated!_

“Wow. That was _blunt_. Sorry about that. But you are, you really are.” It seemed she didn’t fully notice the state Blinky was in.

Her troll friend, however, was all too aware of his own state. Ears pointed down while his cheeks were darkening by the moment. His hands didn’t seem to know where to go, one set resting on his face in a failed attempt to stop the blushing, the other wringing together to produce a clacking noise.

“If we really must trade compliments, then you are by all accounts beautiful as well. Now, we better get back inside before someone has to come and check on us!” He cleared his throat. Blinky felt the dire need to escape, if only to have the chance to calm down. This was slightly overwhelming.

Arlow sighed.

“You’re right. God, I must sound like a creep. Just randomly calling you beautiful.” She winced and rubbed her neck. _God, oh god what have I done I’ve ruined everything!_

“Sorry, Blinky. I know I already said that, but I feel like I made everything awkward and I don’t know how to fix it without apologizing about fifty times.” She scuffed the grass with her foot and gave him a warm glance before scurrying back inside.

Blinky stayed, taking a few deep breaths. The intensity of their conversation made his heart beat a little too fast for a little longer than he felt strictly necessary.

_And it_ was _the intensity, surely. It couldn’t be anything else. Nope._

“My my, what have I gotten myself into?” He shook his head and walked back inside, his heart successfully slowing and his cheeks returning to their natural lighter blue tone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Arlow is suuuuper intense, and Blinky is already suuuuuper into her. It’s not happening too fast shhhhhh it’s fineitsfineitsfine (also any ideas for what you might wanna see down the line let me know in the comments! I wanna hear your ideas!)


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our little Billygoat meets Dictatious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some of my writing skill may have returned! Huzzah! Also I watched the first seven episodes of Wizards and OH MY GOD

“Cmon! It’s fine, I can take it!”

Arlow sputtered.

“Wh- _No_! You’re a teenager! What if I hurt you?” Jim laughed. The sunset shone off in the distance between the tree branches. Arlow huffed and stared out at the nearby forest.

Since getting new glasses, she had split her days between recovery, reading Troll Lore, and staring at anything she hadn’t seen in years. The trees, the leaves, the sunrise and sunset. 

Barbara had even found her crying at a picture of a seal on tv because, and I quote: “The squish is too much!”

She was feeling much better now. The sleep had helped her a great deal, and Vendel had decided to test her abilities as a flesh-troll, whatever that was.

Currently, they were trying to test her horns and her proficiency with them in fighting. Practice fighting, of course.

“We will have to test this eventually, Arlow. And Jim remains to be the only troll close to your size.” Blinky offered in placation. He stood off to the side with Vendel, well away from the potential tussle.

“I’m not even angry! I can’t just attack!” Arlow shook her head. “No, isn’t there another way to do this?” Jim hopped from foot to foot. He seemed really excited.

“Then get mad. Think about the one thing that makes your vision turn red and utilize it to attack Master Jim.” Blinky smiled.

Arlow groaned and paced in oblong shapes, thinking hard.

What made her mad? Racism? Sexism? Ableism? Homophobia? She hated too many things to count, but none of them really affected her right now. Unless she were in one of those situations, she could ignore those problems pretty well and go about her day.

The back door opened wide and Merlin stepped out with a scowl. His couple weeks of exploring had finally ended.

“Good evening, trollhunter.” Jim waved. He seemed pleased that the old fool had returned.

Ah, Merlin. Right.

“Okay. I’ve got it. I’m mad enough.” Arlow got into position. The two troll bystanders caught what happened. Vendel seemed a little too pleased while Blinky just wrung his hands and cleared his throat.

“Alright, are we ready?” Jim nodded, crouching low to the ground. Arlow glanced to the Wizard, grumbling under her breath.

Blinky chopped down and Jim was off like a rocket. Arlow has barely any time to brace before Jim’s horns were connecting with hers like a thunderclap. She gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could, heels digging furrows into the grass. Jim kept pushing, his eyes focused on his target.

Blinky shouted encouragements from the sidelines.

“Nice form, Master Jim! Keep your heels grounded, Arlow! And keep your head tilted down, you’ll expose your neck!” 

They both strove for the high ground, their palms pushed at each others trying to gain any ground they could. Arlow’s neck and forearms burned, her shoulders bunched to try and take more of the strain.

Although Jim was a little more experienced, the two half-trolls were equally matched. The sun had finally set and the moon started to come over the horizon by the time either made any progress. 

It was Jim who ultimately gained the upper hand. His horns had settled into a groove in Arlow’s horns and he had the perfect leverage to start knocking her over.

A scoff off to the side caught her attention.

“This is child’s play. Surely, we have bigger issues to deal with than some traitorous half-troll?”

How _dare_ he?! Her chest burned as her breath came in rapid puffs. A rising, bubbling well of frustration and hatred started in her stomach and spread throughout her body, rejuvenation her spent muscles. She ground the balls of her feet into the ground and started slowly moving Jim backward. 

Step by step by step, she forced him back to where they had started. Jim strained now, putting more force behind his horns to put her off balance.

It didn’t have the desired affect. He had gathered his strength into one head butt and reared back to deliver the bow. Arlow jerked backwards, throwing Jim off-balance and shocking everyone by coming full force and aiming for his abdomen.

Jim could barely register what was happening before he was carried up by Arlow’s goat-like horns and tossed over her shoulder like a pebble.

Blinky had started to congratulate her, but she brushed past him and got in the old Wizard’s face.

“What? Go on, say it! Am I not good enough for the ‘All Powerful and Wise’ Merlin? Too weak? Too fragile? Not like your Trollhunter, who you manipulated and used to win against Morgana?” The outburst was out of left field, shocking the old man himself.

“Oh, please. He understood the risk. If this is about trapping you inside of a crystal, you had Morgana’s dagger with you. It wasn’t my fault when you came practically waving one of the most powerful Sorceress’s weapons in my face. What was I supposed to do?” Arlow shook with rage.

“Maybe actually confirm I’m evil first! And by the way, you gave me the dagger you idiot! You told me to keep it safe, and you betrayed me!” Her fists were clenched tight to her sides.

“Liar! I never gave you that dagger. This must be a trick, you devious fiend!” 

“ _Fiend_?!” Arlow practically shrieked. She grabbed the front of Merlin’s armor and hauled him into the air, practically growling as she seethed.

“You are the only _fiend_ here! Stole me from my own time period, plopped me where I had no idea where I was! Why did you do this? What did I ever do to you? What could I have-.” Hot steam shout out of her mouth with a hissing noise. Arlow became so startled by it, she dropped Merlin, where he landed in a heap in dirt and grass.

She shook her head. Yelling would do no good. Her years stuck with only thinking as a hobby told her that.

“Merlin, I’m not evil. But I know you don’t believe me because you are a bitter old fool who thinks everyone is either plotting against you or is an idiot. But just to be clear.” She leaned closer. “If you ever hurt someone like you hurt me, anyone at all, I won’t rest until you feel all the pain you’ve inflicted. Are we clear?” Merlin just glared.

Arlow backed away. She went to Jim, checking him over and asking him over and over if she hurt him, if he was alright, Jim I’m so sorry I just got so  _ mad- _

“I’m fine! Really.” She took a deep breath and nodded.

“Sorry for blowing up in front of everyone.” She chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. 

“But at least now we know I can use my horns, right?” Blinky laughed and nodded as Vendel continued to scowl.

“Maybe you can. However, we have yet to determine just what you are, Arlow of The Crystal.” Vendel leaned close, just as she had with Merlin. “It would be beneficial if we learned sooner rather than later that you were conspiring against us, wouldn’t you say?” She gulped and nodded. He may have been thousands of years old, but he could obviously pummel her into a pulp.

Vendel nodded. “Good. I shall retire to Trollmarket. Seems there may be a problem with the gnomes that needs attending to.” 

Blinky went to follow, but paused.

“Are you coming as well, Arlow?” Arlow shook her head. Blinky gave her a sympathetic look and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I understand that regaining your old life will not be such an easy task. But you are not alone. Many of us have worked hard to regain what we have lost. Some more than others.” He glanced to Jim through the window, his surrogate son cooking as he laughed with his mother.

Arlow nodded. “Thanks, Blink. I think I’m gonna go for a walk in the forest.” Blinky gave one more glance over his shoulder before he opened the door.

“Oh, Arlow?” She hummed.

“If you see my brother in the woods, would you kindly tell him we need to talk? There are some future events I would like to discuss with him.” She shot him fingerguns and headed towards the thicket of trees, already feeling some of the tension in her back melt away.

~~~~~~~~~

The sounds of the forest surrounded Dictatious. He heard chipmunks chattering in the trees, leaves shaking with the blowing wind, even a few frogs hopping through the grass near his left leg.

He sighed and listened. He may not have been able to see his surrounding, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still experience them.

The scholar found peace among the trees, a peace he seldom had nowadays. Dictatious had been turned good, yes. But not without some pain.

Gunmar had not been a good leader, unkind and with a shorter temper than most. Any little mess was met with beatings and threats of death should it happen again. Even the wrong tone of voice could lead to a bruise or two. The transition to a vastly different environment was still a little jarring at times, still flinching at loud noises and shouting.

He grumbled and flicked his ears, hearing a steady crunching sound approaching.

The Conundrum sighed and turned his head, tilting it just so to allow him sight of the moon. Well, where he thought the moon was.

It was a big adjustment, not seeing. Not being able to catalogue everything he learned in one of his scholarly bound books and place them high on the shelves.  _ Might give those auditory books that Tobias offered a try. _ That whelp was intriguing, always around to lend an annoyingly helpful hand.

His ear twitched again, pointing up in the direction of that  _ damn _ crinkling, now much closer.

“If you were any louder, you might be caught by a nyarlagroth.” He paused. “I already know you’re there, hiding in the pervasive shadow of my sight! I may be blind, but I am no fool.”

He heard a throat clear before footsteps brought a shorter shadow to his periphery. 

“Well?”

“Uh...are you Blinky’s brother? Well, course you are. Four arms, six eyes. Who else would you be.” The person plonked down beside him and sighed.

Arlow scrubbed at her face, glancing around at the dark forest full of frogs and all manner of creatures.

“Dictatious Maximus Galadrigal, if you even care to know.” He sniffed the air.  _ Troll, but not? Almost a fleshbag, but too strange smelling. _

Arlow could see his quite large nostrils flaring. Dictatious leaned closer, looking like he was trying to find the answer to a rather confusing question.

“You don’t smell right, almost like a confusion. What are you? I demand the truth!”

Arlow scoffed at his remark. 

“And what do I owe you? I don’t even know you! I’ve made no promise to tell you the truth.” She stared down at her lap. Absentmindedly, she took note that the digits folded together in her lap were twisted and white.

He scoffed.

“If I had the truth, I still wouldn’t give it to you.” Dictatious knew that tone. Somber, lonely. He shook his head. Wasn’t his problem.

He turned back to the general direction of the sky.

Arlow glances at him. He was green, with two short and pale horns peeking out of spiked hair. It looked like an extremely dark shade of green, maybe even black. Two streaks of grey suggested he was the older of the two. There was also a crack over one of his eyes, twisting at the end.

Arlow followed the direction of his gaze, towards the glowing moon hanging above.

“Would you like me to describe it to you?” Arlow waited. 

“If you must, flesh thing.” Arlow rolled her eyes. She cleared her throat and proceeded.

She summoned every word she could find in her head, painting the picture of a pale orb hanging high above their heads. A pale white circle planted firmly a foot above the 13-20 foot tall oak trees surrounding them, a spattering of tiny stars. She tried very hard to describe exactly how it looked before adding her own interpretation, understanding how a blind person asking for a description usually means flatly relaying the look of a subject.

She paused for him after, asking permission to describe it her own way. He gave the slightest nod, and she began again. Almost retracing her description but by bit. How it glowed with pulsing energy in the distance, speckled with faint grey marks in the shape of a tired face. How every star in the sky only seemed to be there to frame its’ cold shape, frozen in space. Without life, forever unattainable and untouched by living beings.

“...and on certain nights, when the wind is crisp, it seems like a fantastic living thing. A place only dreamt about in your deepest fantasies of escaping stress and worry. Ethereal, one might say.” She had a smile on her face.

She glanced at her troll companion, only to find a starry eyed expression with perfectly vertical ears. She coughed as heat rose in her face.

“Well, I mean...pretty weird. What I said was pretty weird, I think.”

“You certainly caught me off guard with your little speech.” He grumbled. “Well-written. A bit choppy at parts, but it was passable.” It was an interesting moment, connecting as two writers.

The troll sighed and bunched his fists. “But if only I could  _ see _ it.”

Arlow furrowed her eyebrows.

Dictatious perked you when he heard her get up and move away. He cursed his luck.  _ Left me alone, all because of this ridiculous weakness of mine.  _ He sighed. This was what he wanted all along, wasn’t it? To be alone, to have peace.

He heard a far off curse.  _ They’re still here? _ That was a shocker.

Stumbling footsteps led back to him and he felt a hand grasping at his own. He flinched at first.

“Please, give me your hand. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” Dictatious squinted. His hand opened flat and he shivered at the coldness deposited in his palm.

He gingerly grasped it, moving it around in the fingers of his top two hands. It was smooth, chilled, giving an expectation of being easily moldable. That was not the case. However, it did have a couple small depressions on one side. 

“What is this thing you have handed me?”

She laughed. “It’s a stone I found. You can’t see the moon, but you have other senses you can use. Why not  _ feel _ the moon?” 

He blinked and looked down to his lap, enjoying the feeling of the smooth stone in his grasp. It did feel like her description. Cold, smooth, with small marks. Exactly as she had described to him. He could swear it almost pulsed in his hands.

“Oh shit!” Dictatious jumped.

“What is it to cause you to use such foul language? An attack?” He jumped up and spun around, giving a hard glare to his surroundings.

“No- _Dictatious_ , we’re fine!” Arlow grabbed his arm before he could make another turn and faced him.

“Blinky asked me to tell you to come back, he has something to discuss with you.” That seemed to calm the troll down.

“Will these interruptions to my peace never end? Come along, Blinkous has less patience than a Sloarbeast.” Dictatious stumbled amongst, holding out the three unused hands to feel his way out of the woods.

Arlow gasped and ran to his side, catching him right before he suffered a nasty fall at the hand of a snaggled tree root.

“Don’t you have a white cane or something? Goodness gracious, you’ll never have any independence to move around without it.” The scholar’s arm became stiff in her grip, but as he was led carefully through the thicket and his feet were guided along the ground by her calm voice, he relaxed and even grasped her hand.

“Thank you, fleshbag.” Arlow just hummed and warned him about the stone in his path.

“You know, I think I have a new nickname. Curtesy of ‘Draal the Deadly’,” they both snickered at her exaggerated impersonation,” I am now a flesh-troll.” 

“Hold a moment. You have horns?” Arlow pulled up short as he stopped, almost loosing her balance.

“Yes, in fact. They’re curved along my skull, ending in, well, curled points.” She brought one of his searching hands to her horns, intending to let him examine them. 

Dictatious’ cheeks became an extremely dark shade of green and he snatched his hand away, sputtering and trying to backpedal as fast as possible.

“Why, I would  _ never _ -we’ve only just  _ met _ , and-.” He tripped over a pesky root and fell onto his backside.

Arlow huffed and hurried to help him up.

“What was that about? It’s just horns, what’s the big deal!” Dictatious still had a flush on his face. It didn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. He began repeating himself.

“I am flattered, flesh-troll. But as it were, we’ve only just  _ met _ and while my intellect may be appealing-that is still  _ no _ excuse for such, such-!” The flustered troll seemed to get even more flushed, his upper hands coming up to try and cover it.

“What did I do? Is it a troll custom or something?” Arlow gasped. “It  _ is _ a troll custom! Oh, I’m sorry I’ve botched it up. Here I thought I was making a new friend-.” She slumped and shook her head in shame.

“Oh, I see.” Dictatious seemed to calm down at the mention of troll culture.  _ A simple misunderstanding which will be rectified immediately! _

“By troll customs, touching horns is a...private affair between partners or family! It carries a great deal of emotional meaning to us! To offer your horns in such a way-!” Dictatious shook himself. “No! It is far too crass an act. And to touch another trolls’ horns? You may as well count that as your Day of Felled.”

Arlow slapped her forehead. 

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry! I had no idea I had made you so uncomfortable! Goodness, I need to learn a lot about trolls before in interact with any. Well, any more.” Arlow reached out for him, but hesitated.

“May I?” She waited for a nod before taking his hand and resuming leading him out of the trees and back to the house.

Upon arriving, Arlow deposited Dictatious next to his brother on the couch-who immediately started scolding him about being alone- and made a beeline for Barbara, pulling her out of a conversation with Walt. Dictatious had to get a white cane, a staff,  _ something _ so he could lead himself.

“He is blind, Barb. A blind human would get a cane, why can’t we find one for him?” Barbara nodded, obviously thinking hard.

“I know!” She snapped her fingers. “There’s a flea market coming here, full of odd little shops. They set up and take over about five blocks. It’ll be perfect! They even operate in the nighttime. Maybe we can find one sturdy enough then.”

Arlow nodded, biting her nail. Doctor Lake sighed.

“You know, it’s really good that someone is caring about him other than his brother. He needs friends.” She offered a smile to the flesh-troll, patting her on the shoulder. She walked back to Walt, entering a discussion about the increasing raccoon problem.

Arlow sighed as she watched the two troll brothers bickering in an almost loving way. She laughed as Toby came around to Jim and Claire, showing them a video that made them almost jump out of their skin.

“This’ll be interesting.” She glanced back to Dictatious, the poor troll drooping as his brother looked victorious.

_ What cute brothers. I hope I get to know them better. _

Arlow frowned.  _ Cute? Do I really think they’re cute?  _ She shrugged. That was a problem for another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m salty that they didn’t give him a new staff. Barbara is a doctor for Pete’s sake! She should have given him something!

**Author's Note:**

> This is new and complete chaos. I like robots, I love Trollhunters, and Blinky is adorable. So what did I decide to do? Make a robot oc and make them date Blinkous. This story will have so pretty heavy stuff in it. Mentions of sexual assault will be likely as the Mc deals with Nightmare disorder, something that leads to frequent and disturbing nightmares that have an affect on sleep and can cause anxiety. There’s also some stuff about dealings with amputation, abuse, depression, disassociation, and anxiety attacks. Although that’s a little farther in the future. I’ll try not to be too heavy handed, and there will be lots of fluff!


End file.
